Method and device for event communication between documents

• US 20070113237A1
• Filed: 11/17/2005
• Published: 05/17/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Opera Software ASA
• Original Assignee: Opera Software ASA
• Inventors: Hickson, Ian
• Granted Patent: US 7,895,604 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications

Abstract

A method for sending data from a first to a second document when both documents are loaded by a user agent implemented on a client device. The method may comprise the execution of a script in the first document, said script providing the data to be sent to the second document. The user agent may be configured to retrieve information uniquely identifying the first document as well as an origin of the first document. This information may have been collected by the user agent when the document was first loaded, and may not be influenced by the script. The user agent may then send a message to the second document containing the data provided by the script in the first document and the identification of the first document.

Claims

1. A method for sending data from a first to a second document loaded by a user agent implemented on a client device, comprising:

executing a script in said first document, said script providing the data to be sent to said second document;

retrieving, from data collected by the user agent when the document was first loaded, information uniquely identifying said first document and an origin of said first document; and

sending a message including said data and said identification to said second document.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving said message by an event listener defined in said second document; and

processing said data by a script in said second document.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said information identifying said origin includes information representing a domain from which said first document has been retrieved.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said information identifying said origin includes information representing a URI for said first document.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said script in said first document invokes a method implemented in said user agent, said method being defined to receive the data to be exchanged, receive information identifying said second document, extract said information identifying said origin, and passing said information to be exchanged and said information identifying said origin to said second document.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said documents and the structure of said documents are addressed according to one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in said user agent.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein said one or more APIs are defined in a Document Object Model (DOM) module that is part of said user agent.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein said unique identification of said second document is a reference to a DOM document object representing said second document, and said method is called as a method belonging to said second document or said representation of said second document.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein said information representing a unique identification of said first document is a reference to a DOM object representing a local instantiation of said first document.

10. The method according to claim 5, wherein said documents and the structure of said documents are addressed according to application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in a Document Object Model (DOM) module that is part of said user agent, and said method belongs to a DOM document type object, and further comprising:

instantiating, upon loading said first and said second document, two objects representing said documents.

11. The method according to claim 5, wherein said documents and the structure of said documents are addressed according to application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in a Document Object Model (DOM) module that is part of said user agent, and said method belongs to a DOM window type object.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said script is ECMAScript or substantially ECMAScript compatible.

25. A computer program product containing a set of instructions, which are executed by one or more computer processors in order to perform the method in claim 1.

26. The computer program product according to claim 25, carried on a computer readable medium.

27. The computer program product according to claim 26, wherein the computer readable medium is chosen from the group of a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device and a flash memory.

28. The computer program product according to claim 25, carried on a propagated signal.

13. A computer device with a display configured to load and display documents, and comprising computer program code that enables the device to perform:

executing a script in said first document, said script providing the data to be sent to said second document;

retrieving, from data collected by the user agent when the document was first loaded, information uniquely identifying said first document and an origin of said first document; and

sending a message including said data and said identification to said second document.

14. The computer device according to claim 13, further configured to perform the steps of:

receiving said message by an event listener defined in said second document; and

processing said data by a script in said second document.

15. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein said information identifying said origin includes information representing a domain from which said first document has been retrieved.

16. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein said information identifying said origin includes information representing a URI for said first document.

17. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein said script in said first document invokes a method implemented in said user agent, said method being defined to receive the data to be exchanged, receive information identifying said second document, extract said information identifying said origin, and passing said information to be exchanged and said information identifying said origin to said second document.

18. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein said documents and the structure of said documents are addressed according to one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in said user agent.

19. The computer device according to claim 18, wherein said one or more APIs are defined in a Document Object Model (DOM) module that is part of said user agent.

20. The computer device according to claim 19, wherein said unique identification of said second document is a reference to a DOM document object representing said second document, and said method is called as a method belonging to said second document or said representation of said second document.

21. The computer device according to claim 19, wherein said information representing a unique identification of said first document is a reference to a DOM object representing a local instantiation of said first document.

22. The computer device according to claim 17, wherein said documents and the structure of said documents are addressed according to application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in a Document Object Model (DOM) module that is part of said user agent, and said method belongs to a DOM document type object, and the device is further configured to:

instantiating, upon loading said first and said second document, two objects representing said documents.

23. The computer device according to claim 17, wherein said documents and the structure of said documents are addressed according to application programming interfaces (APIs) defined in a Document Object Model (DOM) module that is part of said user agent, and said method belongs to a DOM window type object.

24. The computer device according to claim 13, wherein said script is ECMAScript or substantially ECMAScript compatible.